Rinsing Plants After Bleach

I'm in the midst of a major brown diatom outbreak (over a month into it) and today I decided to bleach my Java Moss, Java Fern and Anubias (1 part bleach, 9 parts water) as they were covered in brown yuck (there was literally NO green on the Java Moss today). I let the plants sit in the bleach water for about 20 minutes and they were looking good so I rinsed them really well. I'm now hesitant to put them into the tank as I'm afraid they might still have bleach on them. They're sitting in a bucket of tap water treated with Prime. I'm planning on putting them in the tank when I wake up 7 hours from now. Is that a good plan? Anything I should do differently if I have to do this again?

 

If you are concerned, empty out the bucket and repeat the process. Do this as many times as you feel is necessary.

 

That sounds good. Prime works instantly so any clorine in it will be gone.

 

G

That sounds good. Prime works instantly so any clorine in it will be gone.

good point. Since chlorine is the active ingredient in bleach wouldn't it be neutralised?

 

I'm gonna do some crazy chemistry here. Forgive me if I mess up anything, I haven't done chemistry in 6 years.

Bleach is NaOCl. Dosing prime will eliminate Cl (chloride) meaning it is no longer bleach.

 

Ggood point. Since chlorine is the active ingredient in bleach wouldn't it be neutralised?

Cant tell if you’re being sarcastic but I don’t even know the answer lol

 

I'm gonna do some crazy chemistry here. Forgive me if I mess up anything, I haven't done chemistry in 6 years.

Bleach is NaOCl. Dosing prime will eliminate Cl (chloride) meaning it is no longer bleach.

If the ratio of the chlorine binder in Prime is equal to the amount of chlorine in the bleach, yes it would be neutralized. But, how much prime would it take to neutralize what amount of bleach? It’s been thirty years for me. Ball’s in your court now.

 

If the ratio of the chlorine binder in Prime is equal to the amount of chlorine in the bleach, yes it would be neutralized. But, how much prime would it take to neutralize what amount of bleach? It’s been thirty years for me. Ball’s in your court now.

Hard to tell, because I don't know the wate/chlorine ratio for tap water.

 

Hard to tell, because I don't know the wate/chlorine ratio for tap water.

Me either! Lol

 

Me either! Lol

I did a quick google. Cl-H20 is 1:100. So you would need to do (approximately) ten times the normal dose, eleven to be safe, seeing as the OP's ratio was 1 part bleach, nine parts water.

Lol I am proud of myself

 

I did a quick google. Cl-H20 is 1:100. So you would need to do (approximately) ten times the normal dose, eleven to be safe.

Lol I am proud of myself

I’m proud of you too! thank you!

 

I’m proud of you too! thank you!

Wait, I was wrong.

Since there are three components to the compound, divide 11 by 3. There is your answer. Let me just calculate that...

11/3= 3.6666...
Dose 3.7x the dose you would normally do to neutralize chlorine.

Now I am proud of myself

 

Wait, I was wrong.

Since there are three components to the compound, divide 11 by 3. There is your answer. Let me just calculate that...

Stop! My brain hurts. It’s been too long.
The only important thing is a few rinses and the plants should be good to go, right?

 

Stop! My brain hurts. It’s been too long.
The only important thing is a few rinses and the plants should be good to go, right?

I just wanted to do the math LOL.

 

I just wanted to do the math LOL.

 

Well that was fun to wake up to
Thanks you guys!

 

Well that was fun to wake up to
Thanks you guys!

Sorry we kinda took over the thread. But it was fun!

 

The bleached plants look great and nobody died so I'd call it a victory, however, now my rooted plants look extra gross. Is it okay to bleach rooted plants too???

 

The bleached plants look great and nobody died so I'd call it a victory, however, now my rooted plants look extra gross. Is it okay to bleach rooted plants too???

Yes but the replanting May cause some wilt. Sorry, melt. And rinse well. Try to keep their tender roots out of the bleach water. I think you’re having fun too. You just wanted an excuse to redecorate! Lol

 

The bleached plants look great and nobody died so I'd call it a victory, however, now my rooted plants look extra gross. Is it okay to bleach rooted plants too???

Yep, but as Gypsy said, keep the roots out. It could stop the nutrients.

 

Just watch out for the plants in the coming weeks. The bleach may have some lasting effects. The plants may die back a little, but they should be fine.